Website video tips from a Catholic video expert

Why it's important to invest in video production

Videos can captivate your online audiences, causing them to stick around a little longer as you “take” them places through imagery, music, and narration. It’s an excellent way to tell a story and share your mission. However, if you’ve never utilized video on your website before, creating one can be a daunting task.

Branden Stanley, creative director at Spirit Juice Studios, spoke with us about the value of website videos and taking those first steps. And if budget constraints won’t allow you to go the route of hiring a professional, Branden has excellent tips for doing it yourself … even if it’s for the first time ever.

Stanley: Catholic organizations should invest in video because it is no longer the future or the upcoming medium, but the current medium. Video and film are everywhere, and for good reason.

Video has the potential to influence a viewer more than any article, song, or image, because it is the delicate and yet powerful combination of them all.

I believe Catholic organizations should invest in video because what group has more reason to effectively share their message than the Catholic Church? And what are Catholic organizations if not a type of outreach of the Church? If the mission of the organization is to promote that which is true, good, and beautiful, shouldn’t they utilize the most powerful means of spreading that information?

eC: How would you recommend somebody get started?

Stanley: When you’re getting started, it’s most important to observe before you jump right in. I usually recommend that people go to Vimeo.com and check out the “Staff Picks” section. These pieces have been chosen usually because they have demonstrated great technique in visuals, storytelling, or other areas. I recommend watching these pieces with an analytical eye. Consider elements such as:

How did they light the piece? Was it naturally lit? (e.g., by window light or sunlight) Or studio lit?

Did they film it handheld or on a tripod?

Did they use wide lenses or tight (close-up) lenses? What time of day did they film?

Paying attention to all of these things (and more) will really help you jump in with a beginning knowledge of what it takes to make a great piece. Once you know what you’re looking for, it just takes a bit of practice and experimentation to get there.

If you know how you want a piece to look, practice that look before you actually begin to film it.

The challenges of shooting video in Church

eC: Are there any special considerations for shooting video in a church?

Stanley: One of the big considerations with filming in a church is low lighting. If the church has enough windows, sometimes it will be well-enough lit, but frequently churches are underlit and quite dark. This is where it helps to have a prime lens, which lets in more light, as well as a camera that is sensitive enough in low-light.

Try to place subjects close to light sources such as candles and stained glass windows, and avoid filming with the overhead lights present in churches. In fact, one of the first things we usually do when filming in a church is turn all of the overhead lights off. One would think “more light is automatically better” but undiffused lights from above have a tendency to create shadows in the eyes and give “hotspots” in the video which bring the visual quality down.

eC: What are easy editing tools or software for beginners?

Stanley: When you’re starting out, you really don’t need something as powerful as Adobe Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro X for editing. While those are certainly fantastic programs, iMovie and Magix Movie Edit Pro (for Windows) are inexpensive/free means of editing your pieces. They won’t give you quite as much flexibility as professional programs, but oftentimes you won’t need it.

Just be sure to avoid the words that every editor hates to hear: “We’ll fix it in post.” When you’re filming, make sure you get it right then and there. It’s usually easier and less time-consuming to redo a shot than to rely on software fixes.

Select professional-quality music to enhance your videos

Choosing the right music track is important. If starting with a low budget, go to places like PremiumBeat.com to license royalty-free music. When you can afford it, move up to sites such as Musicbed.com.

Creating videos at Catholic parishes and schools

Stanley: Homepage feature videos come in all different types and versions. While there isn’t any one particular “right” way of doing it, I’d recommend keeping things slow.

Think of each shot as an image itself. If it wouldn’t make a good picture, it may not be worth displaying.

Once you have these carefully chosen shots, edit them into a piece that’s 30 seconds at most before it repeats. Usually we choose a slower edit (displaying relatively few clips), in order to give people an opportunity to take the video in. It shouldn’t distract from the rest of the site, but should enhance the viewing experience.

Things to avoid for your homepage feature region video:

Shots of people talking: You won’t be hearing them anyway, so it doesn't make sense to include a shot of someone talking.

Handheld shots: Unless they are incredibly smooth, avoid handheld shots altogether. The video is playing on a large section of the site, so you don’t want to make anyone feel motion sick from an overly-jittery video.

eC: What would you recommend to a pastor or principal building a communications/digital evangelization team? Would you outsource video projects?

Stanley: If you produce up to three videos per year and want them to be of the highest quality, it may make financial sense to outsource to an individual or a company that knows the field well and can bring your vision to life.

If you’re looking to produce a couple videos per week, it would be better to create a team of your own.

Creating your own team would allow your vision to be consistent throughout a long-term series.

If you can only afford a couple hires, find people who are skilled in multiple areas of media. We often work with those who have a great knowledge base ranging from filming and editing to social media optimization.

If you can afford a larger team, find people who are more specialized. When everyone can do everything, they’ll step on each others toes.

Spirit Juice Studios is an Emmy award-winning video production firm based in Chicago that creates stunning video for Catholic faith organizations. Many of the techniques Branden mentioned above can be seen in their online video collection. Check it out and be inspired! Visit spiritjuicestudios.com.